My risky university plan

[Supib]

I'm first of all retaking 2 of my Ib subjects which are history and math sl. The grades I got from previous sitting are:

English A2HL -6

Finnish B HL - 6

History HL - 5

Math sl - 4

Biology sl - 5

Russian A1 sl - 5

TOK+EE - 1 bonus point

which puts me at 32 points overall.

I applying to the following universities in the UK

1.) UCL (Information management for businesses) 34 required.

2.) Queen Mary (Business management (maybe with computer science) )32-34 required.

3.) Sussex (International Business) 32-34 required.

4.) Leicester (Economics with law) can I apply for this? - 32-34 points

5.) University of sheffield/edinburgh (I will send this one after I've done my retakes. If I feel like I've done badly I'll send it to sheffield, if I feel like I've done well I'll send it to edinburgh.)

this pretty much means that I have to improve if not for all, but for most in order to get in... I'm in a way dooming myself but oh well.. lets see how it goes! :/

[Sandwich]

Did you have any questions or were you just looking for moral support?

[Supib]

Well I had that question regarding leicester and well other than that.. moral support not sure if I'll get into anywhere.

[Abu]

Your courses are all over the place, Economics / Law / Business Studies / Computer Science / International Business / Information Management. That's 6 different subject areas across 4 different courses in 4 different universities. You'll have a really difficult time writing your personal statement to fit all those universities, and even if you magically cram all those subject areas in, the admissions officer might raise a few doubts about where your interests actually lie.

You should get in to the universities that have 32, 33 and 34 as a minimum as long as you have a comprehensible and likable personal statement.

I wouldn't suggest applying to Leicester, it's not like the rest of your courses so you'll have an issue with the personal statement here too.

[Supib]

Arent economics and business quite closely related? I know its two different subjects, with one being much more theoretical, but apart from that I can fit my personal statement for econ and business. And when looking at the courses I really didnt understand the difference between regular business and international, apart from of course the fact that the international one is more internationally focused? I'll take away the computer science so doesnt that leave me with subjects that are pretty closely related (apart from law)? And yeah I'd also be grateful if people could tell me what the difference between business studies and just business is?

[Daedalus]

Well I had that question regarding leicester and well other than that.. moral support not sure if I'll get into anywhere.

Good luck getting moral support :\ we'll douse you with unwanted truths around here.

That said I think going to a university is, at any rate, a very good idea. Unfortunately, I've had friends who have retaken exams and gotten less, and even more who have retaken and barely scraped in with an extra 1-2 points. So take the exams seriously! Make a revision schedule, stick to it. De-activate facebook for a while.

Other stuff: as Aboo mentioned, choose one course. Main reason for this, I guess, is that you're not going to be able to write a good PS for this many subjects, and your PS has to be excellent. In the end it's pretty easy switching courses once you get in to a university, so choose something, and don't stick to it if you don't want. First objective is to get in!

Only other thing I can mention is it might be worth retaking Biology as well. It's the sort of subject with which concerted, extensive revision can - and will - improve your grade, often significantly. It's a question of reading the same thing over and over again in different ways.. refer to study guides, different books, etc. and you could get a 7. However, if you think it'll interfere with your other exams, better not to: the points are the most important.

Also, your University choices are okay but you'll need to have preferences anyways: if you get accepted to all 5, you will still only go to one! So give yourself a more sensible set of choices, with some (1-2) safeties, some more or less within your grasp (2-3) and one reach, which you probably won't get in to. There is no reason to take unnecessary risks when it comes to the next three/four years of your life...

[Supib]

Thank you aboo, but how do you switch courses in a university? Can you switch them at the start of the year or what? And can you switch from example from business to econ or to law?

[Abu]

It's easy enough to change a course within your own university if you meet the prerequisites for transfer / do really well in your first year courses. Might have to repeat a few courses.

Changing universities is fairly difficult, you'd have to apply through UCAS once again and your courses may not transfer so you'll have to repeat a year (most likely scenario)

[Supib]

It's easy enough to change a course within your own university if you meet the prerequisites for transfer / do really well in your first year courses. Might have to repeat a few courses.

Changing universities is fairly difficult, you'd have to apply through UCAS once again and your courses may not transfer so you'll have to repeat a year (most likely scenario)

So if I understand this correctly, I dont absolutely have to have the 36 points for a certain course I'd like to transfer to, I can do really well in my first year studies in my current course and then transfer to the other?

[Abu]

Your university must also be willing to accept you for the other course, and it's all subject to space availability in the other course but yes, it is possible.

[Supib]

Thanks for the help ill change my choices to something less impossible for me to reach and I'll hope for the best!

[Supib]

Your university must also be willing to accept you for the other course, and it's all subject to space availability in the other course but yes, it is possible.

Aboo, one more question please bear with me do you think I can still apply to information management for businesses with a personal statement that is aimed at business and management? Arent the two quite closely related? I'd really like to try and get into UCL!

Also stuck between deciding should I apply to bus.management to Leicester or sheffield... which one has better reputation? According to league tables leicester is higher, but sheffield is said to have good reputation? Is leicester regarded as better than sheffield nowadays or what?

Edited October 21, 2010 by Supib

[Abu]

Not a problem, feel free.

I think you should be able to pull it off since the two are somewhat similar. What you need to do in your personal statement is to add a small bit about how much you think IT is valuable in today's world and the benefits of IT etc. It won't drastically change your PS, while at the same time what you're saying will come off being absolutely true therefore it won't really detract from your main aim.